A maze is a complex tour puzzle in the form of a complex branching passage through which the solver must find a route. In everyday speech, both maze and labyrinth denote a complex and confusing series of pathways, but technically the maze is distinguished from the labyrinth. The labyrinth has a single through-route with twists and turns but without branches; it is not designed to be as difficult to navigate as a maze is. The pathways and walls in a maze or labyrinth are fixed (pre-determined). Maze-type puzzles where the given walls and paths may change during the game are covered under the main puzzle category of tour puzzles. The Cretan maze is the oldest.
Although the true origins of the maze probably go back to neolithic times, the earliest mazes we know of were actually architectural monuments built in Egypt and on Crete (an island in the Mediterranean) about 4000 years ago.
The most impressive of these architectural mazes was known as the Egyptian Labyrinth. A vast palace complex located on the shores of a lake seven days journey up the Nile from the pyramids, the Labyrinth was built by pharaoh Amenemhet III in the 19th century BC. It consisted of thousands of rooms and twelve large maze-like courtyards, which were probably intended to keep out unwelcome visitors. Amenemhet was fascinated by mazes, and he also created a fantastic life-size maze inside his nearby pyramid to thwart tomb robbers.
According to the only two ancient historians who saw it with their own eyes, the Egyptian Labyrinth was more impressive than the Pyramids at Giza. Although archaeologists have found the site it once stood upon, nothing of this mysterious monument remains today.
Perhaps the most well-known ancient architectural maze is the Minoan palace at Knossos on Crete. Built around the same time as the Egyptian Labyrinth, Knossos was a vast interconnected complex of small corridors, staircases and private courts, and once consisted of perhaps 1,300 rooms spread over three acres of land. Spiral and labyrinth designs on coins and pottery, as well as hundreds of bull-horns carved in stone and wall paintings of young men leaping over charging bulls, can be found at the site. These are intriguing clues, since according to Greek legend the Minotaur was a half-man and half bull monster, trapped within a Labyrinth, that devoured Athenian youth.
Although the true origins of the maze probably go back to neolithic times, the earliest mazes we know of were actually architectural monuments built in Egypt and on Crete (an island in the Mediterranean) about 4000 years ago.
The most impressive of these architectural mazes was known as the Egyptian Labyrinth. A vast palace complex located on the shores of a lake seven days journey up the Nile from the pyramids, the Labyrinth was built by pharaoh Amenemhet III in the 19th century BC. It consisted of thousands of rooms and twelve large maze-like courtyards, which were probably intended to keep out unwelcome visitors. Amenemhet was fascinated by mazes, and he also created a fantastic life-size maze inside his nearby pyramid to thwart tomb robbers.
According to the only two ancient historians who saw it with their own eyes, the Egyptian Labyrinth was more impressive than the Pyramids at Giza. Although archaeologists have found the site it once stood upon, nothing of this mysterious monument remains today.
Perhaps the most well-known ancient architectural maze is the Minoan palace at Knossos on Crete. Built around the same time as the Egyptian Labyrinth, Knossos was a vast interconnected complex of small corridors, staircases and private courts, and once consisted of perhaps 1,300 rooms spread over three acres of land. Spiral and labyrinth designs on coins and pottery, as well as hundreds of bull-horns carved in stone and wall paintings of young men leaping over charging bulls, can be found at the site. These are intriguing clues, since according to Greek legend the Minotaur was a half-man and half bull monster, trapped within a Labyrinth, that devoured Athenian youth.
